Spanish-language stations teaming to register Arizona Latino voters

PHOENIX — A coalition of Spanish-speaking radio and television stations and newspapers is encouraging Latinos to register to vote.

BuzzFeed reports that the campaign, headed by voting group Mi Familia Vota, is hoping to increase Latino voter registration by Oct. 10, the deadline to vote in the general election in November.

The coalition of stations includes Univision, Telemundo and Azteca America, among others.

Ben Monterroso of Mi Familia Vota told BuzzFeed that the group hopes to defeat both Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — both of whom have been critical of Latinos — in November’s election.

“We have seen Arpaio disrespecting and going against our community for many years,” Monterroso said, of the controversial sheriff currently up for re-election while also facing legal trouble. ”The fact that Donald Trump is using Arpaio as one of his validators is a motivating reason why our community should participate in the elections and why I believe the Spanish-language media doing their part to inform, motivate and invite participation is crucial.”

The group will use phone banks and radio and television spots to encourage Latinos to register to vote, either in-person or by mail-in ballot.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said he supports the idea because of his state’s roll in the immigration battle over the past years.

“We’ve been the petri dish for every kind of law that is anti-immigrant and anti-Latino as a reaction to this accumulation of Arpaio, [former Gov. Jan Brewer,] border militarization, and the racial profiling,” he told the website.